1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a fluorescent lamp, and in particular, to compact fluorescent lamps providing multiple levels of illumination.
2. Description of the Related Art
For purposes of assisting family members and guests navigate their way through corridors and rooms in the darkness, a wide variety of nightlights have been proposed. In many implementations, nightlights are adapted for use with an electrical outlet in the wall. While these conventional nightlights are popular with some users, others choose not to use them for various reasons including lack of electrical outlets available for these conventional plug-in type nightlights.
There have been efforts directed toward providing fluorescent lamps with multiple levels of illumination. Presently, there are a number of three-way fluorescent lamps available for use with a three-way lamp socket and they are becoming increasingly popular since the level of illumination can be selectively adjusted and they consume substantially less electrical power than an equivalent three-way incandescent lamp. Some users use a three-way fluorescent lamp to provide nighttime illumination by intentionally leaving the lamp turned on at its lowest setting during sleep period. One disadvantage associated with using a conventional three-way fluorescent lamp as a nightlight is that even at its lowest setting, the illumination provided by the lamp is not suitable for use as a nightlight and can be blinding to those whose eyes have been adjusted to the darkness. Another disadvantage associated with the conventional three-way fluorescent lamps is that variable switching elements incorporated into these lamps to control the level of illumination are expensive to manufacture.
Therefore, what is needed is a single lamp unit that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and is capable of functioning both as a fluorescent lamp and as a nightlight.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a compact lamp unit is provided which functions both as a fluorescent lamp and as a nightlight. The lamp unit includes a housing, a fluorescent tube, a low power light source, a conductive base and first and second circuits. The housing is used to contain a number of components and to support the fluorescent tube and low power light source. The conductive base is attached to a neck portion of the housing and has contact terminals adapted for a three-way lamp socket. The first circuit is electrically connected between the fluorescent tube and two of the contact terminals to drive the fluorescent tube. The second circuit is electrically connected between the low power light source and two of the contact terminals to drive the low power light source.